Thursday, Jan. 29, marked the 29th day of Zohran Mamdani’s term as mayor. amNewYork is following Mamdani around his first 100 days in office as we closely track his progress on fulfilling campaign promises, appointing key leaders to government posts, and managing the city’s finances. Here’s a summary of what the mayor did today.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani signed an executive order Thursday morning mandating that each city agency designate a “chief savings officer” to “review performance, eliminate waste and streamline service delivery.”
The order came a day after Mamdani pointed the finger at former Mayor Eric Adams for a gaping $12 billion city budget deficit, which Mamdani says is the result of Adams’ fiscal “negligence.”
The mayor emphasized that budget cuts are a “last resort” and that the city will first focus on lower-impact belt tightening.
“We do not want to be cutting the services that New Yorkers are relying on,” Mamdani said.
Budget: Mamdani seeks savings to help close $12 billion chasm
Announcing the deficit on Wednesday, the mayor emphasized that the city had not seen such a deficit since the Great Recession. He also blamed a longtime imbalance between city and state contributions, which he said dated back to former Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s time in Albany. Mamdani said the city contributes roughly 54.5% of state revenue but receives roughly 40% of state spending, tallying to an estimated $8 billion annual gap.
The executive order, which he announced and signed during an appearance with journalist Dan Mannarino on Pix11, is Mamdani’s 12th since he took office at the start of the calendar year. It mandates every agency to identify a chief savings officer within five days. The order comes as the city prepares a legally mandated balanced preliminary budget due Feb. 17.
“It’s going to require an ‘all of the above’ approach,” Mamdani said, calling for more state funding, tax hikes on wealthy New Yorkers and corporations, and internal efficiency measures.
Mamdani has thus far enjoyed a close working relationship with Gov. Kathy Hochul in the first month of their government partnership. However, the two starkly diverge on income taxes, with Hochul staunchly against any tax hikes and Mamdani highly in favor.
Still, he credited Hochul with making meaningful progress on the state’s relationship with the city.
“I see the architects of this crisis as being the prior mayor and the prior governor,” Mamdani said, referring to Adams and Cuomo. “I think that there have been steps taken within the past few years, especially under Governor Hochul’s leadership … however, there’s more that needs to be done.”
Mamdani said it’s time for the city to “be honest and direct about what we need from Albany.”
Within 45 days of being appointed, Mamdani said, the “chief savings officers” must report back to the city on “the savings that could be pursued, the efficiencies that we’re currently seeing, and the programs that, frankly, need to be sunsetted or are not effective.”
Once they have prepared their reports, the chief savings officers will present their findings to the Offices of the First Deputy Mayor and the Budget Director and will complete “updated assessments” every six months, “evaluating progress and identifying new opportunities for savings and efficiency.”
Fighting hate: Mamdani set to name head of Office to Combat Antisemitism
Mannarino also asked Mamdani about a Wednesday evening incident at Chabad World Headquarters in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, in which a man repeatedly crashed his car into the building. Mamdani, who was at the scene to witness the aftermath, said the “horrifying incident” is currently being investigated.
“I am so thankful that no one was hurt,” Mamdani said. “We know that this is a building that has immense meaning to so many Jewish New Yorkers and those across the world.”
Mamdani had previously responded to the incident on Wednesday night, affirming that “antisemitism has no place in our city, and violence or intimidation against Jewish New Yorkers is unacceptable.”
He said that his team is in the final interview stages as it continues searching for a new leader of the Mayor’s Office to Combat Antisemitism — an office created by Adams in May 2025.
“That is going to be a key position that delivers on our commitment to root out antisemitism across the five boroughs and make this a city where Jewish New Yorkers are not just safe but, frankly, celebrated and cherished,” Mamdani said.
The New York Post reported Thursday morning that City Council Speaker Julie Menin is creating her own antisemitism task force, which will operate separately from the Mayor’s Office to Combat Antisemitism.
